November 24, 2008 Issue 117 All We Want For Christmas Is Music HOLIDAY SC H EDULE Faith Hill’s Joy To The World, the technologically enhanced Elvis Presley Christmas Duets project and the Target-exclusive Country Aircheck will be closed Thursday, Nov. 27 and Friday, Nov. Julianne Hough Holiday Collection are among the country 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will resume regular publication holiday offerings new in stores this year. on Monday, Dec. 1. Black River Music Group is sending radio a sampler featuring holiday songs Christmas Singles: from Jeff Bates, Sarah Darling, Emma Katie Armiger/All I Want For Christmas Is You Jacob and Jeremy McComb, and Katie Armiger/I Wanna Be With You This Christmas even a tune called “Walken In A Winter Luke Bryan/Run Run Rudolph Wonderland” (you have to hear it). And, Whitney Duncan/All I Want For Christmas Is You of course, Rascal Flatts included their Joey + Rory/Cheater, Cheater (The Sleighbell Mix) first Christmas cuts in a limited edition Tracy Lawrence/All Wrapped Up In Christmas version of their Greatest Hits Vol. 1. Tracy Lawrence/Cold Beer All-Christmas format flips are already Point Of Grace/Tennessee Christmas underway and Black Friday is in four Rascal Flatts/White Christmas days. Unless you believe Santa will stay Rascal Flatts/Jingle Bell Rock home this year waiting for a bailout, it’s Rascal Flatts/I’ll Be Home For Christmas time to look at the sounds of Christmas Taylor Swift/Last Christmas past and present. We’ve listed the top Taylor Swift/Christmases When You Were Mine 100 most-played Christmas songs of Taylor Swift/Santa Baby 2007, according to Mediabase, on page Taylor Swift/Silent Night 6. Below is a list of current titles up for Taylor Swift/Christmas Must Be Something More addition to your Yuletide canon. Send Taylor Swift/White Christmas additions or suggestions to news@ Carrie Underwood/Do You Hear What I Hear countryaircheck.com. Jimmy Wayne/Paper Angels 2008 ©2008 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 24, 2008 Country Aircheck Weekly Page 2 Cumulus’ Dickey Predicts “Shakeout” MY TUNE S : MU S IC TH A T SH APED MY LIFE Radio is “fundamentally a very sound business,” Cumulus WOWC/McMinnville, TN & WOWF/ President/CEO Lew Dickey, Jr. told the Atlanta Business Crossville, TN PD Josh Brandon discusses his Chronicle recently. But with so many broadcasters deep in most important songs, albums or concerts: debt, he also predicted grimly, “I think there’s going to be a 1. Pearl Jam, Ten: This album not only started my pretty big shakeout ... half the [broadcast radio] companies in love affair with grunge, Seattle and layering, but it was an introduction to a darker and more serious business today will be gone within 36 months.” While noting type of writing and musical expression. I related that declining ad revenues and erosion of to the aggression and depth in Alternative Rock in stock valuations are partly to blame, so is Josh Brandon the early ‘90s. Ten started it all for me. the industry’s cannibalistic sales culture: 2. Barry Manilow, Greatest Hits: I was in a thrift store and found “Price integrity and value-based selling have this album. I thought it’d be a funny gag to play it in my dorm room been replaced by often vicious rate-cutting and have my friends ask, “What the hell are you listening to?” From to take share from competitors. The radio the first time the needle hit the vinyl, I was blown away. It calms me. industry has been its own worst enemy in Don’t judge. Lew Dickey terms of commoditizing its product.” Dickey 3. Conway Twitty, Merry Twismas: This brings back so many great added that his company intends to acquire more stations as memories of Christmas from my childhood. My Dad was responsible for keeping country music in my life. He was the biggest Conway fan consolidation continues. and would wear this out every year. 4. Queen, Classic Queen & Greatest Hits: I stumbled across Queen Chart Chat thanks to a friend, and what an amazing body of work. There has Hearty congrats to the Zac Brown Band, Jeff Solima, never been and never will be another human being who can control Michael Powers and the entire Big Picture team on this week’s their voice like Freddie Mercury. And I still have Brian May in my top 5 guitarists of all time. No. 1 with ZBB’s “Chicken Fried.” The accomplishment is 5. Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song and Gary Allan, Tough all the more remarkable considering the band’s shifting label All Over: I’ve been through my personal struggles and fought situation, with Live Nation making an abrupt about face in its my demons. Jamey’s new CD is relatable on so many levels of raw music strategy. So now, just a few weeks after signing with emotion. Gary’s Tough All Over came to me several years after my Atlantic, ZBB scores its first chart-topper. brother’s suicide, but it was the single most healing and therapeutic We caught up with Zac Monday evening at his Atlanta home, thing for me. I’ve met Gary a couple of times just in passing and I’ve where he was preparing to undergo Lazik eye surgery Tuesday always wanted to tell him how much it helped me. morning. When congratulated on having the No. 1 song in the • A highly regarded song or album you’ve never heard: This list is USA, he told CA, “We huge. I’ve always been a single junkie, never got much into albums until are very honored to be I became a PD. Let’s go with anything from Zeppelin or Floyd. As much where we’re at right as I respect them, I’ve never heard an album all the way through. • An “important” piece of music you just don’t get: Most pop now, and really want to music, to be honest. I find a great deal of it soulless and poorly written thank everyone in radio set to a catchy beat. for getting behind us and • An album you played or listened to incessantly: I’m big into Gary helping us. And we want Allan’s Greatest Hits. It’s my default CD. Blake Shelton’s More Pure B.S. to thank America for and Darius Rucker’s new CD are in there, too. embracing it.” Zac Brown Band ©2008 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 24, 2008 Country Aircheck Weekly Page 3 BIR th DAY S Tuesday (11/25) – Amy Grant, Steve Lassiter, Patsy Wells Wednesday (11/26) – Linda Davis, Joe Nichols, Anne Buchman, Bob Frank, Steve Grisaffe, George Meeker ([email protected]), Jenell Parker ([email protected]). Thursday (11/27) – the late Eddie Rabbitt; Darlene Starr (darlene@ co5music.com) Friday (11/28) - Kristine Arnold, Cheryl Cranford, Gene Dries, Mike Kennedy ([email protected]), Clint Clifton (clint@ montgomerygentry.com). Saturday (11/29) - Jody Miller, the late Merle Travis, Ryan Bitzer, Kory James ([email protected]) Sunday (11/30) - Jeannie Kendall, Mindy McCready, Teddy Wilburn, Jimmy Bowen, Adam Clark, Linda Engbrenghoff Monday (12/1) - Kim Richey, Dave Ashcraft, Larry Shell, Jenny Wallace, Kirk Yoquelet, Paul Riddle He got the news of his first chart-topper less than 24-hours ago. “I was at home when I got the news about midnight last night. I had been watching the charts and wondered if anything was going to slide in at the last minute, but about midnight I knew for sure. It’s just amazing. I wrote the song with Wyatt Durette. We sat down and made a long list of the things we thought mattered, and we put every single one of them into this song. “We were writing the song around Sept. 11 and I was also thinking about how many sacrifices we take for granted that other people make so we can be free and do what we do. I was living with a Marine at the time, and it was just a way to say thanks. It was also a reminder to me and everyone else that it is the little things that matter, and we should be thankful for them. “I just can’t tell you how this feels or what it means. We’re a grass roots band; we’ve been playing five-six nights a week for 12 years. We just love to play, and have a great band, family and crew. And to have this happen after all this time is just such an amazing honor. I lead a charmed life and just feel so blessed. I just can’t thank everyone enough.” Radio News • Citadel’s KRST/Albuquerque PD Eddie Haskell has assumed PM drive following the exit of Ann Perkins. She had been with the station for a decade. Also exiting is Promotions Eddie Haskell Dir. Tom Marshall. • Double O’s WWNQ/Columbia, SC has begun playing wall- to-wall Christmas music and will continue to do so throughout the holiday season. • Premiere’s Big D and Bubba can now be heard on 50 stations with the addition of WXTA-FM/Erie, PA. • The American Forces Network will broadcast the 24-hour Brooks & Dunn American Country Christmas to U.S. troops overseas for the third year. ©2008 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 24, 2008 Country Aircheck Weekly Page 4 Gig Alerts • CC SVP/Programming Clay Hunnicutt CH ECK OU T IN ST ORE S : 11/25 is looking for someone to join WUBL/ Trace Adkins X (Capitol) Atlanta morning teamers Kristen Gates and Todd Veal.